Broken - #Wattys2016 Completed

Chapter 36

"Well it's about time," Gino said when his thug entered the room with Marilyn by the scruff of the neck and the little green tin box under his arm.

"You have your money Gino, a deal is a deal, let me go now."

Gino pushed Marilyn back into the chair roughly and took the tin and tossed it onto a nearby shelf. "Get out, leave us alone Johnny," he said then looking at Marilyn he shook his head sadly, "You remind me of my dog Rusty, when I was a kid growing up in Italy."

Sitting on a chair backwards he leaned over it looking right into Marilyn's eyes.

"I found this stray dog all mattered and hungry and I begged my poppa to let me keep him. Poppa said a dog like that needed a bullet, he warned me, it saw my kindness as weakness and would it would turn on me when I least expected it."

"I was a persistent little bugger, even back then and talked my poppa into letting me keep him, I stuck up for poor old Rusty. My Rusty was different from those other mongrel dogs from the street. I would teach him how to love and trust again," said Gino shaking his head.

"I bathed him, fed him and loved him with all my heart, I even made him a bed in my room. The next day I went to put his leash on and take him for a walk he bit me. It ripped up the side of my neck, a few inches and he would have got my jugular, I could have died...."

Wagging his finger at Marilyn he continued, "I thought I could pick you out of the gutter and love you enough for both of us, but just like that dog, you bit me too. My poppa was right all along. Do you know what happened to old Rusty?"

Marilyn shook her head.

"I put a bullet in that doggy's head for biting me, and now I gotta put a bullet in your head too. It's just the way it is, you chose this, not me!"

"Gino I'm not some little stray puppy, I'm a person, please let me go, nobody would have to find out, you can say whatever you want to your friends. I wouldn't tell, not a soul."

"You got me my money back, so that deserves something, but it isn't worth your freedom," Gino tapped his head with one finger, "I will kill you quick, no suffering, best I can do."

"Gino please, don't do this. I have to be around for my daughter, I promised her and I have a grand baby, in the hospital, real sick, they need me. Please Gino I need be around for them."

"Yes that's right, Victoria, nice girl - no thanks to you."

"How do you...Gino, you leave my daughter out of this."

"Oh I plan to, and I will do her a favor getting rid of you. By the sounds of it she wasn't much interested in having you around anyway."

Marilyn looked up at Gino and sobbed.

"Sorry baby, but crying won't get you nowhere - it's a pity, we had some good times you and me didn't we."

She wiped her eyes and attempted a smile.

"The best Gino, doesn't that mean something to you?"

"I got Alice now."

"So you don't mind cheap imitations."

"No, that's why I liked you so much, that's exactly what you are, a cheap Marilyn Monroe imitation, a cheap thrill to show off to the boys."

"Your right, but I played your game, and I played it good. Admit it Gino, you love me, we could still be together....

"Sorry Babe, even if I took you back it would only be a matter of time until you took off on me again, like old Rusty, your broken, there's only one thing your good for. Farewell, my sweet Marilyn, you will make a beautiful angel."

Gino pulled a small hand gun from his jacket pocket and lifted his arm, pointing the gun to Marilyn's head and released the safety....

"Freeze, put that gun down."

Within a split second the small room swarmed with police officers yelling, taking Gino's gun from him and pushing him to the floor. Marilyn watched dazed as it unfolded before her like some cheap Broadway play. She laughed out loud, was she alive or is this how dead people dreamed.

A hand touched her shoulder as she sat in her chair still laughing at Gino as he was cuffed; Marilyn looked up startled, still expecting Gino to pull the trigger.

"Hey pretty lady, what do you say we go get that drink you promised me?"

"Eddy, your here, you saved me..."

Eddy squeezed her shoulder and nodded.

"The moment I saw you I knew something was wrong when I went out the back to get your green box I called the police I tried to stall. But that guy threatened you with his gun, so I had to come back out. Lucky you knew where they were taking you, that note, 'Alley Cat Bar' instead of your signature was a stroke of genius."

"Thank god you were there Eddy...." said Marilyn crying as the full impact of what had happened hit her. She survived, but more importantly this was the second chance she had prayed for.

Eddy picked her up by the waist and helped her out of the chair.

"Come on Miss, let's get you back to the hotel and all cleaned up, you've had enough partying for tonight!"

"After this I'm done with partying for good." said Marilyn and took Eddy's arm.

As they walked out of the room she felt something hard and metallic under Eddy's coat, draped over his arm.

"What's that?"

"Shhh," he whispered.